Hyderabad: It was supposed to be a momentous
day for the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh with formalities
related to the merger of Praja Rajyam Party getting completed on Monday.
There was a grand celebration at the APCC headquarters
"Gandhi Bhavan" to commemorate the occasion with Chief
Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, PCC president Botsa
Satyanarayana and a host of party leaders in attendance to
welcome the "star of the day" K Chiranjeevi and his group of
MLAs into their fold.
But, along with the jubilation there was also some
desolation in the Congress camp as at least two dozen of its
MLAs formally snapped their ties with the party besides
quitting their Assembly membership.
The Congress Legislature Party`s balance sheet thus
read `17 in` and `24 out` today though it doesn`t really pose
any threat to the Kiran Kumar Reddy government as it still has
152 MLAs on its side and can also count on seven of the
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.
The government will not fall by any means, even if the
resignations of all the 26 MLAs are accepted.
"So, even if the 26 resignations are accepted, it will
only be an advantage for the government as it will have a
larger strength than required," a legal expert analysed.
The same confidence was reflected in Congress leaders`
assertion at the Gandhi Bhavan function that none could pull
down the party government.
On their part, the Jagan loyalists too maintained that
they had no intention to dislodge the Kiran Kumar Reddy
government and their resignations were only to protest against
tarnishing of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy`s
name in the ongoing CBI case against the Kadapa MP.
PTI
